Fall Movie Preview:Capote

Capoteopening September 30

starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Clifton Collins, Jr., and Chris CooperDirected by: Bennett MillerThis is the story behind the story of In Cold Blood and if you haven’t already heard it’s supposed to be brilliant and a knockout. Instead of focusing on the true-murder story of a Kansas family in 1959, the movie focuses on the friendship Truman Capote formed with the two convicted murderers in order to write his nonfiction novel. Phillip Seymour Hoffman stars as Capote. “Its not a biopic, and it’s not a greatest hits his life.” says Hoffman. “It takes place prior to his becoming the raconteur he became, before he was just an eccentric personality.” For this portrayal of Truman Capote, Hoffman has been named as one of the early oscar favorites of 2006.Catherine Keener costars as Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird and Capote’s close friend. Her role is crucial because Lee helped Capote research In Cold Blood. Together, the two writers charm Alvin Dewey (Chris Cooper), the detective in charge of the case and his wife (Amy Ryan) giving them immediate access to the case.Other costars include Mark Pelligrino and Clifton Collins Jr, as the two killers. There is no doubt that Capote exploited these men for his book, but what the film also shows is the connection Capote felt to Perry Smith (Collins Jr.). Collins is mesmerizing and haunting as the killer, Smith.

But there is no doubt that this film belongs to Hoffman, who gives an unmissable and unforgettable performance. According to Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, “Hoffman gets the flamboyantly gay public image of the whiny-voiced gadfly…But his real triumph is inward, the way he fins the stillness in Capote, and the emotions roiling in his eyes what he sees in the world reduces him to awed silence.”A definite must-see.__________quotes: Peter Travers, Rolling Stone, October 6, 2005Premiere Magazine: Fall Movie Preview, September 2005

I’m excited for this movie…. not only because I have read “In Cold Blood” but because Truman Capote is one of my favorite writers (“Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, “Other Voices, Other Rooms”, even “To Kill a Mockingbird” in a way).